Terri scowled at his profile.
“Should have known you would say something like that,” she muttered, watching Veral as he followed the jail guard back through a locked door.
She blinked and sat forward as everyone jerked to a halt. What was going on? Even Dreth’s lips fell in a puzzled frown. The tiny drone was just behind Veral’s huge shoulders, so she had no way of seeing what was happening, but Azan’s barked expletive and Veral’s angry hiss was enough to tell her that whatever it was, it was not good.
Her mate rounded on the guard, snatching him by the throat with one hand as he shoved the male into the wall, his vibrissae whipping forward in fury.
“What happened here?” he growled.
He stepped forward, crowding into the male’s space, and Terri drew in a sharp breath. The male lay crumpled on the ground, green foam spilling out from his mouth to mingle with the blood streaking down from his eyes and leaking from his pointed, frilled ears. Her fingers dug into the armrests of the chairs as she swallowed back her nausea.
“What the fuck?” she choked.
She could just barely hear the pirate mutter the same question as she toed the corpse with a shudder of revulsion. Since the drone was coded to Veral’s bio-signature it stayed near him and the audio was filled with the guard’s laborious breathing. He wheezed around the tight grip on his throat, his thick fingers digging into Veral’s forearm. Although the Farhal was larger and impossible for Veral to pick up, the sheer strength of her mate kept him immobile despite his struggles. The guard’s mouth gaped slightly as he drew in a ragged breath, however little Veral allowed.
Terri rolled her eyes as the excessive show of force despite the tiny thrill it gave her knowing that concern for her was largely what motivated the reaction.
Control of his emotions her ass.
“Yes, I can see he’s keeping himself under control,” she muttered.
Dreth shrugged. “The male is not dead.”
“Answer,” Veral commanded in a low hiss. “What happened?”
“Poison… It looks like poison,” the male rasped fearfully.
From the angle of the droid Terri could see the deadly narrowing of her mate’s eyes.
“And how,” Veral snarled, “would poison have made it into the jail cell? Do you not remove your captive’s personal belongings?”
The guard gave a jerking nod. “Yes, on my oath. We search all pockets, pat the clothing for anything in the lining, and search orifices. We also run a toxins and metals detector to catch anything we may miss. He was clean. There was no chance of him bringing it in with him.”
“Who gave it to him then?” Veral demanded.
“I do not know! I just came on shift after the midday meal hour. I would need to check the security footage, but I do know that there haven’t been any visitors. From what I understand, he did not move from the bench by the window all day.”
“In front of the window.”
“We know it is against regulations, but the window is very small. Not even the smallest species would be able to get through it.”
“That is hardly the only potential concern,” Veral snapped.
Her mate huffed then and released the male, the guard immediately rushing back up the corridor as Veral spun around, his eyes narrowing on the body. He barely glanced up to nod to another Farhal, one wearing a crisp black uniform jacket in contrast to the red ones worn by the other guard she had seen. This new male took position by Veral’s side, his face hardening as his eyes skimmed over the corpse on the floor of the cell.
“Damned mess,” the Farhal muttered as he pulled a datapad from a pouch inside his jacket. “I am head guard Shonk Vazan. You are Veral’monushava’skahalur, current head of the Monushava household investigating an attack on your household initiated by this vendor?”
Veral grunted in agreement.
Vazan did not react to the Argurma’s non-reply, but Terri wasn’t surprised. Over a year with Veral and she had become accustomed to it. No doubt the Farhal was accustomed to Argurma mannerisms because the male nodded his head and lowered his datapad to peer at the body.
“Guardsman Yarth gave me a summary of what happened, and I would like to assure the Monushava household personally that he is correct. No one visited, nor was any suspicious activity recorded in the cell.” He squinted at the window. “He mentioned that you believe the attack came from the window. It is very narrow. It would be difficult to...”
“Not for an Argurma,” Veral interrupted impatiently. “Navesha, check the male for any sign of damage on the back of his torso and arms—anywhere accessible from the window.”
The female nodded and, before the head guard could object, headed toward the body. She stepped past Azan, who rubbed a bit of the mucus between her fingers and sniffed it. The pirate recoiled and wiped her fingers off on the body.
“If I were a betting female—and I am—I would wager that the culprit here is the dalif strobinis xerxi. It is a fast-acting poison contrived from the stinger of a deep-sea dwelling creature from Ogamulan. Any pirate would love to have a supply, but it is hard to come by and very expensive.” She smirked up at him. “I nearly got a supply to take care of my dear former captain before we met up with you.”